Of Course Donald Trump Called ‘Roseanne’ Over Ratings Success

The ratings bonanza around ABC’s Roseanne revival caught everyone by surprise, but what happened next should not. Documented ratings-hound and sitting U.S. President Donald Trump naturally reached out to bask in the success and show his own support for the revival.

The New York Times confirmed as much with White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, adding that Trump called Barr personally to “congratulate her on the revival of her comedy, and to thank her for her support.” The revival has made significant discussion around the fact that Roseanne Conner – like the comedienne who portrays her – supported Donald Trump into the 2016 election and beyond. Trump is also famously obsessed with TV ratings, going back to his Apprentice days, and Roseanne’s 18.2 million viewers is nothing to sneeze at. Barr also elaborated on the call to Good Morning America (h/t UPROXX):

Well it was pretty exciting, I’ll tell you that much. They said ‘Hold please for the President of the United States of America,’ and that was about the most exciting thing ever, and it was very sweet of him to congratulate us … Well, you know, we just kinda had a private conversation, but we talked about a lot of things, and he’s just happy for me, I’ve known him for many years and he’s done a lot of nice things for me over the years and so it was just a friendly conversation about working and television and ratings … Oh yeah, he really understands ratings and how they measure things, and that’s kind of been an interest of mine too for a long time.

Donald Trump Jr. also tweeted congratulations to the sitcom star, adding “If you’re not too busy already maybe work in a late night show too.” Of course, many have also expressed concern with Roseanne’s idealized depiction of Trump support, and the comedienne has notably avoided in-depth discussion of various issues. A promotional appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! even ended with Roseanne flipping off the comedian for inquiring about her more controversial tweets.

Time will tell if Roseanne keeps the same monster ratings and support, so stay tuned.